Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that his office has launched investigations into dozens of Medicaid providers across Texas.
According to the attorney general’s office, the probes were initiated by Paxton’s Healthcare Program Enforcement Division using claims data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that was released through efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
The targets include home health providers, occupational therapy providers, and entities tied to potential fraud involving COVID-19 treatments.
Earlier this year, DOGE publicized federal HHS Medicaid data on X as part of an effort to detect possible fraud. Paxton’s office said the new investigations will draw on that data, the OAG’s internal claims data, and other tools, including Civil Investigative Demands, where appropriate ahead of possible litigation.
“Unlike states that are run by radical left-wing lunatics, we will not tolerate the abuse of taxpayer funded programs in Texas,” Paxton said. “My office has already recovered over $1 billion from Medicaid fraud alone since 2020, and I will continue to pursue any fraudster who attempts to cheat Texans out of money by exploiting our healthcare system.”
Paxton’s Healthcare Program Enforcement Division has recently pursued several other healthcare fraud and enforcement actions. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the office sued Children’s Health and North Texas physicians over child “transgender” drug treatments and filed suit against dental providers accused of using gift card bribes and medically unnecessary procedures to defraud Texas Medicaid.
The division has also pursued cases against drugmakers over alleged misconduct. Paxton’s office said HPED sued Sanofi and Eli Lilly over alleged illegal kickbacks to doctors and sued Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb for allegedly failing to disclose that their blood thinner Plavix did not work effectively for certain patients.
It also recently secured a $41.5 million settlement from Pfizer and Tris Pharma over adulterated ADHD medication supplied to children on Medicaid, according to the attorney general’s office.